


The Virgin in Eden

by Anonymous



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Kink Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 18:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1358173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a kink meme prompt: Javert sees teenage Cosette in her nightgown and is awkward but chivalrous.  Drabble prompt fill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Virgin in Eden

Spring had come to the Rue Plumet house and the flowers in its garden bloomed with wild abandon; the blood-red roses and jasmine produced a heavenly perfume, and the vines and roots twisted like serpents that might entrap the young virgin who lived there. The rose in full bloom could not compare to the budding rose inside. Cosette stretched and threw the covers back. She went to the mirror and combed her fingers through her long, chestnut hair that fell in graceful waves down her back.

Cosette had been considered homely for much of her childhood and she could scarcely believe that someone considered her beautiful. She was no longer a gawky, frail creature with sunken eyes; and the sharp angles of childhood had been replaced by the soft curves of womanhood. The moonlight shone on her hair and she smiled at her reflection. She tiptoed over to the window and peered out, hoping to see her Marius at the gate.

A shadow passed by, her heart raced, and her skin seemed on fire. She tiptoed down the stairs with a candle and out the door into the garden, racing to get there before her Marius was gone, belatedly realizing that she was only dressed in her night gown and had forgotten her dressing gown. Moonlight and the faint glow of the streetlamps made the rain-slick leaves shine silver in the darkness of the sleeping garden.

A figure passed by the gate and Cosette opened the garden gate with the complete abandon of an innocent soul. The face she encountered was not Marius and she screamed.  
The man was tall and wore a dark greatcoat that was far too hot for the spring weather. Beneath it, she thought she saw a gleam of silver buttons. The candle cast harsh shadows on abroad jaw, thick graying whiskers, and eyes that were an intense and penetrating mix of blue and silver. He had raised the large cudgel he carried when she screamed, and he now tucked it under his arm to avoid frightening the lady.

“What are you doing out at this time of night?” The words were much sharper than he intended. The inspector was exhausted from weeks of night patrols and never-ending reports. Inspector Javert patrolled the street nightly now as the Patron Minette was increasingly brash.

“I...I live here.” Cosette thought to flee to the safety of her home and her papa but the man’s steely gaze held her in place. She hunched her shoulders and drew her arms closer to her body, a flush creeping into her cheeks when she considered the impropriety of standing alone, in nothing but a thin cotton nightgown, in front of a strange man in the middle of the night. What would Marius think? What would her papa say? No man other than her father had seen her in her nightclothes and only then in times of illness. She was suddenly aware of every inch of skin exposed to the cool, night air, and shame brought a flush to her cheeks.

“Now, if you please, Monsieur, I must get back to bed. If my papa finds out you saw me like this…”

Javert studied her a moment. The candle cast a warm glow on the young woman’s face. Bathed in its light and dressed in white, she rivaled the beauty of the angels. She was not a child and not yet a woman. Her large, blue eyes were the innocent eyes of a virgin. There was something eerily familiar about her eyes. He quickly averted his eyes when he realized she was dressed in her nightgown.

“My apologies, Mademoiselle.” Javert bowed stiffly and removed his greatcoat, handing it to the lady.  
She slipped his coat around her shoulders. Her small hands were lost within the long, woolen sleeves and it trailed the ground, but it concealed her form and she was grateful.

“Thank you, Monsieur. What are you doing outside our house?” She began to slowly relax. Whoever the man was, she felt sure his intentions were not to harm her.

“My name is Inspector Javert. I’m a police officer. “

“A police officer..” she repeated recalling her papa’s dislike of the police.

“I was on patrol and I saw your candle at the gate. I feared you were a thief or worse.” He paused a moment and ran a large, gloved hand through his whiskers; then, his eyes narrowed and he continued,

“You should not be out here alone. The streets of Paris are not safe for a young lady.”

Cosette raised her chin proudly. “I’m not so young. I’ll be seventeen soon.”

Javert sighed. “What the devil were you doing outside alone?”

Cosette glanced away from his piercing stare. “A noise in the garden woke me. I went to the window and I saw a shadow moving on the street. It was your shadow, wasn’t it, Inspector?”

“I suspect it was.” He regarded her a moment more and then grew uncomfortable. Although he was required to converse with many women in his field, he rarely spoke to any he would consider true ladies, and more often than not, they were druken beggars and painted whores.

“Forgive the intrusion, Mademoiselle.” He bowed and turned to leave.

“Wait, Inspector.” He turned around and walked back to the gate.

“You forgot your coat.” She extended it to him and he accepted it and turned away quickly without looking at her.

“Goodnight.” He walked a few paces and then turned back and said, “If I see you out at night again, I will be forced to speak with your father on the matter.”

Cosette dropped her gaze. “Yes, Inspector.”

As the inspector turned to leave, she said softly, “Goodnight.”

She watched the tall figure until he disappeared around the corner of the street then tiptoed through the garden, past her father’s room, and into the darkness of her bedroom.


End file.
